After reading all this AMD and Intel crap about SB, BD, IB, etc. and so on...I started to think do you really need all this BS? I just came up with a thought to see my normal cpu usage. It turns out even while listening to Winamp, watching a video on Youtube, watching a 720p movie via VLC...my Athlon 2x4 3.0ghz(bought with a mobo combo and newegg.com for under $190US) hovers below 35% usage. That really tells me that all these Intel fanboys must be decoding a LOT of videos or doing some real intensive work to justify spending hundreds on the cpu alone while the mobo cost more than their AMD counterparts. I'm a little bit of an AMD fanboy(just a little bit ). I'm not an AMD fanatic who will buy chips that are inferior at the same price tier if competing against a superior product. Don't get me wrong, I'm not blasting Intel, I just cannot understand some people who buy such expensive cpu's and skimp out on their gpu when all they have to do is buy an AMD chip and use the rest of that money to expand their GPU budget. So my thought is this. If you're building for someone does web browsing all day and light gaming, can't go wrong with a cheap AMD build(very possible to build a $300 rig due to sinking ddr3 ram prices for this). If you're strictly a gamer, go for cheap AMD cpu and expensive GPU. IF you're snobbishly rich or got gobs of cash in your budget for a gaming pc, be my guest and fuel Intel's pockets. They always say AMD is around to keep Intel's prices in check, but I also believe it's vice versa so I love having this new Athlon IIx4 of mine that I built for under $400 :lol: